Istanbul meeting of Heart of Asia set for Dec 9

ANKARA

Turkey is set to host the ministerial conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul process in metropolis Istanbul on Dec. 9, the foreign ministry has announced.

“Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process 8th Ministerial Conference, themed Peace, Partnership, Prosperity will be held in Istanbul on 9th of December 2019,” the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

The ministry also conveyed that the conference will be inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Idrees Zaman, the acting minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, acting as co-chairs.

"Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process, having commenced with the “Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan” in 2011 upon the initiatives of Turkey, aims to enhance regional cooperation towards Afghanistan," the statement read.

During the meeting, Turkey will hand over its co-chairmanship, which it assumed in 2017 at the 7th Ministerial Conference in Baku, to Tajikistan.